


Your Boyfriend Does Gifts Better Than You - The Jason Todd Story

by Silencing



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Fluff, Holiday Fic Exchange, Holidays, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 22:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9092827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silencing/pseuds/Silencing
Summary: It's two days until Christmas, and Jason has no idea what to get Tim.  It doesn't help that Tim's a genius at gift-giving - like everything else.  Will a night patrol help Jason clear his head enough to figure things out, or will Tim be getting an IOU this year?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RobinNightngale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinNightngale/gifts).



Why did it have to be 2 days until Christmas?

 

And why did his boyfriend have to be _Tim Drake?_

 

With a little more time, or a different significant other, Jason was sure he wouldn’t be in this position.  Not that he would have traded Tim for anything - it was just so damn difficult to shop for him.  Especially when working the “night shift” and generalized procrastination had put him here, on December 23nd, with no gifts and no idea how to remedy that problem.

 

He thought a nice night patrol would clear his head, so he wasted another entire day, finding himself here, on a moonlit Gotham rooftop, with a sprinkling of holiday lights spread out below him and a light dusting of snow covering the shoulders of his jacket.  He sat on the edge of the roof with his helmet planted beside him, chin on hands as he mulled over his options.  A chill breeze ruffled his hair, and he wondered briefly if he could sneak into the Manor later for some of Alfred’s famous spiced wine.  

 

Part of his problem was, Tim always got him great gifts. Like last year, when Tim had built him custom motorcycle wheels that shot fire, or the year before when he’d memorialized Jason’s favorite gun as a high-quality rubber replica (after stealing and hiding the original, but that could be forgiven).  He was so crafty that building him something was right out.  Every time Jason thought of making some new piece of tech for him, he’d realize that Tim either was already building it for himself, or already had whatever it was.  Immersive AI rig?  Done.  Less stupid-looking cape that’d let him fly at subsonic speeds?  Already in the works.  Bulletproof sweater?  That… that one had actually been on the table for a while, until Jason realized how hard it was to knit with carbon fiber.  

 

Jason huffed a sigh and got to his feet as he heard the distant wail of sirens.  Sitting in one place wasn’t helping.  Maybe a nice run over to lend a hand to the GCPD would help.  He locked his helmet into place and wiped snow off the lenses, then set out at a brisk jog.  As he vaulted across to the next roof, he wondered if he should just throw in the towel and bake Tim something.  Except then he’d be competing with Alfred, and forget that.  Dick had made cookies for Babs one year, and while appreciative, she’d straight-up told him they were only _almost_ as good as Alfie’s.

 

The snow was coming in heavier now.  There’d been a storm on the Batcave radar, but it’d blown in awfully quickly.  Jason cursed under his breath - he’d have less time to work on Tim’s gift now.  There wasn’t much he could do in a blizzard.  Maybe he’d hit a safe house and… collage?  Paper mache?  He shook his head and pushed his gift predicament temporarily out of mind to focus on the task at hand.  Twenty stories below, the cops were in a stand-off against Penguin’s goons, whose Christmas-themed getups and matching penguin scarves would have been hilarious if not for the fact that they’d taken hostages.  Tim’s present would have to wait - Jason had some heads to knock together.

 

~*~

 

“Hey, tell your boss - great costumes,” Jason said as he tied the last goon to a lightpost with his own scarf.  “Came in real handy.”  

 

As the GCPD moved in through the snow to pick up the gifts the Red Hood had left them, Jason scaled the building once more, not really in the mood to socialize.  Or evade arrest.  Same difference.  It was now officially Christmas eve, and he was no better off than when he’d started.  At this point, Bruce probably even had his shit together.  Cass was no doubt cooking something for the whole family, on an eternal quest to make up for the year she and Tim had literally destroyed the kitchen trying to make gingerbread cookies.  At least Jason didn’t have to worry about _that_.  Steph was masterful at gift-giving, and Jay regretted not asking her for advice.  She probably had some small thoughtful thing picked out, wrapped, and under the tree for everyone in the family, including Damian’s menagerie.  

 

And that was all competition for Jason.  Maybe he should reconsider the bulletproof sweater.  If he stayed in and focused on it…

 

He was going over the mechanics of knitting with carbon steel fibers in his mind when a small, plaintive noise caught his ear.  He was down in an alleyway, avoiding the icy rooftops in this part of town, and probably wouldn’t have caught the noise if it wasn’t for the muffling effects of the snow.  Halfway to the Manor already, Jason didn’t really want to stop - it was damn cold, and if he got in too late, the wine would be gone.  But as he paused, feet crunching in the fresh powder, the noise came again, echoing faintly from behind a dumpster.  It was coming from something small and distressed, and Jason realized he couldn’t leave it alone.  Small (and large, and every other size) helpless animals were Damian’s thing, but Jay wasn’t a _monster_.

 

He crouched down to peer behind the dumpster and found himself eye-to-eye with a shivering puppy.  The mutt was covered in mud, its fur matted from nose to tail, and Jason even tell what color it was, much less what kind of dog it was.  It was pretty small, though, and as Jason bent to get a better look, it shuffled forward on its belly to him, dingy tail wagging.  It whimpered and licked his gloved hand, and Jason groaned inwardly.  He wasn’t exactly well-equipped to take care of an animal, but he definitely couldn’t leave this one behind.  

 

“Hey, boy.  What’re you doing out here alone?” he said softly, removing his helmet to let the pup see his face in the hopes it’d make him less nervous.  “Man, you’re a mess.  I’d be worried about fleas, but they’re probably all frozen.”

 

The pup rolled over on its back and wiggled in the snow, pawing at his hand.  Jason grinned despite himself and gave him a pat on the tummy, then scooped him up before he could get any more covered in snow.  

 

“Jesus, buddy, you _reek_ ,” he said, holding the puppy out in front of him and wrinkling his nose.  The pup whined again in response, tail still wagging.  Jason could feel him shivering, and after a moment’s hesitation, he resigned himself to a serious laundry session and tucked the puppy in his jacket.  

 

Maybe Damian would take on another orphan.  Or....

 

“Buddy, you may have just solved all my problems,” Jason said, putting his helmet back on and checking to be sure the puppy was secure against his chest.  “Tim’s always complaining about Krypto, in that jealous-but-not-wanting-to-look-jealous way.  Assuming you clean up and stop looking like a dirty mop, you might be exactly what I need.”

 

The pup whined again and licked Jason’s chin, leaving a wet streak on the glossy surface of his helmet.  There was just enough time to get him cleaned up before Christmas day.  And unless Damian was suddenly ready to divest himself of his fleet of animals, no one else would be getting Tim a dog this year.

 

“Man, I hope he doesn’t take this as a sign I want to move in with him,” Jason muttered to himself.  “I mean… that wouldn’t be the _worst_ thing, but, ya’know, sometimes a gift dog is just a gift dog.”

  
The puppy wagged his tail in understanding.  Jason grinned, picturing the look on Tim’s face, and headed for the closest of his safe houses.  Spiced wine could wait.  He had a gift to wrap.  Well… to wash, and trim, and feed, and eventually tie a bow on.  But that was all just semantics.  


End file.
